Warning that the city faces bankruptcy, the ad cuts to grim black-and-white pictures of the three elected officials who are James’ main competitors in the contest.

“Loss of services. Crumbling streets. Bankruptcy, caused by the votes of Wendy Greuel, Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry,” says the narrator, Robert Davi, over ominous music. “Nothing would change if they became mayor.”

During Carly Fiorina’s 2010 U.S. Senate campaign in California, he got tens of thousands of views for his online video “Demon Sheep,” which ridiculed a rival candidate as a wolf in sheep's clothing. That same year, Davis created an ad for U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell where she famously proclaimed to the camera that she was not a witch.

Davis said he decided to take a simpler approach after seeing Greuel’s and Garcetti’s television ads.

“They’re kind of hearts and flowers, ‘We can do this, we can do that.’ The question becomes, ‘Why didn’t you?’ ” Davis said. “So I thought, it seemed to me, it seemed to our Super PAC, as opposed to being remotely cute, we should just be very simple and blunt, and that’s why so much of it is in black and white. It’s a simple message, it’s a simple cure for Los Angeles’ problems, so we wanted a simple ad.”